The LNAH (Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey) is notorious for its roughhousing brand of hockey and the latest incident from the Quebec semi-professional league certainly doesn't sway away from its reputation.
During a playoff game between the Cool FM St-Georges and Eperviers Sorel-Tracy on Sunday, a spirited tilt broke out Hubert Poulin (Cool FM St-Georges) and David Lacroix (Eperviers Sorel-Tracy) at 0:03 of the first period inside the Colisée Cardin in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.
Lacroix got the best of Poulin and was on the receiving end of a couple of hard punches, forcing him to lose balance. With his jersey lifted above his head, Poulin fell down onto the ice but showed no signs of giving up on the fight. Two lrefs immediately jumped in to break-up the scrap, but a blinded Poulin assumed he was fighting Lacroix, and that's when Poulin landed two devastating blows to the linesman.
It seems highly unlikely that Poulin did this on purpose, but regardless, he'll likely be suffering the consequences from his actions, whether there was intent or not. Almost any enforcer engaged in a fight will want to pop back up and continue the battle based off instincts alone. It's hard to put full blame on Poulin, or the linesman for stepping in. Sadly, a result like a linesman being punched in the face trying to break up the fight is just the nature of the beast when officiating a league like the LNAH. This is an unfortunate set of circumstances and ramifications in a league that prides itself on fisticuffs with multiple fights almost guaranteed every game.
The 'Hawks came away victorious on the scoresheet with a score of 5-1 and now lead the series 3-0, so Poulin's suspension could conceivably carry into next season, if the league chooses to go down that route.
